U.S. Economic News
October 4, 2019
U.S. Economic Indicators
The U.S. economy added 136,000 jobs in September, below expectations. The unemployment fell to 3.5%, the labor force participation rate was unchanged at 63.2%, and average hourly earnings annual growth declined to 2.9%. BLS Report
The U.S. trade deficit increased from $54.0 billion in July to $54.9 billion in August. The goods deficit rose by $0.8 billion while the services surplus fell by $0.1 billion. Census Bureau Report
U.S. News
According to the Wall Street Journal, the Fed is expected to vote next week to ease liquidity and capital rules for large U.S. banks, lowering regulatory costs for regional lenders with under $700 billion in assets. The move represents the latest in a series of changes intended to soften the impact of regulations imposed under the Dodd-Frank law. WSJ